Cardiac arrest, allergic reactions, and drug overdoses can result in a motionless individual. There is an on-going and escalating opioid crisis which is a driving cases of motionless individuals in need of medical assistance. In Canada, there has been an increase in apparent opioid-related deaths in recent years. For example, in 2016 there were an estimated 2,991 opioid-related deaths and in 2017 there were an estimated 3,961 opioid-related deaths. In the first half of 2018, there was an estimated ten percent (10%) increase in opioid-related deaths over the same months in 2017. In the United States, it is estimated that 78 people die every day as a result of opioid-related overdoses. In 2016 there were an estimated 42,249 opioid-related deaths in the United States and in 2018 there were an estimated 49,068 deaths. The average national rate of opioid-related deaths in Canada and the United States were estimated to be 10.8 per 100,000 people and 15.1 per 100,000 people, respectively.
Aside from the horrific loss of life due to the opioid epidemic, there are collateral losses such as emotional distress of those who know the victim or of those that found the victim. There are substantial financial costs including loss of business (e.g., when an overdose occurs at a place of business and at the business that victim worked), support for those affected by opioid-related deaths, and potential lawsuits resulting from opioid-related deaths.